Did I make too many Reservation?

[gharter]

Light compared to our normal plans. We usually have a TS ADR for the evening meal and lunch is a QS. So a 10 day trip would have at least 10 ADRs for the evening meals/

 

[goofyintoronto]

Thats not too much at all! Are you kidding? 5 TS ADRs in 10 days?? hahaha. I do AT LEAST one TS each day! For example, usually for a 7 day trip i'd have about 9 TS ADRs. I try to scale it back sometimes but I just love the disney restaurants, its impossible.

 

[Summer2018]

We usually do 2 table service meals per day.

But for us, WDW is as much about the resorts and dining as it is the parks.

Our typical WDW day is approximately:

3-4 hours in parks visiting attractions (from rope drop to noon-1pm with a good touring plan)

2-3 hours at the resort pool (usually mid-afternoon).

2-3 hours of table service dining (either breakfast+dinner or lunch+dinner)

For the the remaining waking hours, we just go with the flow (may go back into a park, may hang out at our resort, etc.).

We find this to be a good balance of fun and relaxation.

Love it.

 

[Firebird060]

Lol you must like riding the rides, me and the wife do about 2 sitdowns a day, one non signature and one signature. We like to Lunch early and Dine late, and add a mickey bar between for a snack. I think it all depends on how you like to Disney, I like the rides, but riding a ride doesnt make or break a trip for me and the wife, we go enough that if we miss a ride this time, we will catch it next time. We allow for about a 1 to 2 hour for lunch depending on location and 2 to 3 for Dinner, and just make fast passes around that time slot. It works for us, In the end it depends on how much you want to cram into your vacation

 

[meggiebeth]

I think it depends on how you like to eat. For us, the restaurants are a big part of the WDW experience, and we aren’t even really “foodies” - we just like having nice sit down meals and getting to explore the surroundings. Our last two trips we had the deluxe dining plan - we didn’t pay for it completely, but rather got the free regular dining plan and upgraded to deluxe, paying the difference. We found that three TS meals per day was too much - two TS meals a day was the perfect amount for us. We did eat in a few QS places, but being that TS was included in our plan, and we prefer the TS atmosphere, we thought it was important to lock in our TS reservations before our trip.

We are coming back later this year and are planning two meals a day - usually breakfast and dinner. Most are TS but we will have a few QS as well. It’s tough, as on our latest Disney trips (Paris), you could just show up at the breakfast buffet at the hotel whenever - you didn’t need a reservation. With WDW, I think it’s more important to plan where you’re eating beforehand, whether it’s TS or QS. Otherwise we tend to debate a lot and waste time trying to decide where to eat.

If TS restaurants are important to you, I would probably book one for every day of your trip. If not, and you are happy to eat at QS most of the time, then five reservations should be fine.

 

[22Tink]

I don’t think 5 ADRs for 10 days is too many at all! We typically do 1-2 TS meals per day.

 

[bumbershoot]

We were just thinking to walk around until we see something we like.

U less everyone in your family is perfectly healthy with no blood sugar issues whatsoever, and unless everyone can control their “hangry” levels, and as long as no one is overly picky, that can work.

But it’s far better to know what people like and know what counter service places are around and their basic menus. Otherwise you can end up like us with 8 HUNGRY people with two frazzled moms trying to keep everyone sane and on until we can find an open place with a menu that appeals to everyone. (And the two moms were HUNGRY, too...we just held it altogether a little better than the others!)

because of having to do FastPasses long before we go, I know exactly which park we will be in every day, therefore I know where we will be eating every day.

Yep.

And I know what my family likes, which narrows down the choices nicely.

WDW isn't the kind of vacation where you can "fly by the seat of your pants" and be really flexible.

Agreed. Unless you’ve been there a lot, in which case your planning is innate, you know the parks well, and you don’t have to “plan” because your body and brain just know what’s out there and where to find it.

Last thing, I see 3 of your 5 reservations are outside the parks. Transport to Disney resorts to and from parks is a big time suck, so if you want to minimize running around you might want to focus on in-park dining.

True.


I like one TS a day, and I like it to be in the place where I am or want to end up.

 

[Nancyg56]

That's a great plan. Doing one nice restaurant a day. I think my family and I did poor planning last trip. Thank you for answering, and your input. This helps with the touring planning. Thank you!

This is the key. In your original post you said you were running around the parks to your restaurants. WE plan our dining around the parks, not the other way around.

5 TS restaurants seems light to me, so I think if you wanted to reduce your TS dining you did just that. We book at least on TS meal a day, generally dinner. If it looks like a park will be very crowded, or if it is really hot, I might book lunch as well. We plan parks, look at the events in those parks so we know if we want to be there later, or early, and then book dinner to coincide with our plans. I do not like to run from place to place, and do not like to be boxed in, so we make an effort to avoid a schedule that is very stressful.

 

[Disneylover99]

5 TS restaurants over 10 days seems perfect to me. Enjoy the flexibility!

 

[jo-jo]

What is the makeup of your family? For some families 1 TS is too many. I'm thinking of my younger grandkids who think a meal lasting a min and half is half a min too long.

For my DH and I, we do the every other day TS. We hardly eat out at home and we are not foodies, so CS is fine for us.

I would take a good look at the CS. Yes, you can find hamburgers and chicken fingers a lot, but there are many other choices.

 

[eileen2664]

Thats not too much at all! Are you kidding? 5 TS ADRs in 10 days?? hahaha. I do AT LEAST one TS each day! For example, usually for a 7 day trip i'd have about 9 TS ADRs. I try to scale it back sometimes but I just love the disney restaurants, its impossible.

That's how we are too. Dh will support a Disney trip as often as we can swing it (which is about every 3-4 years) as long as we get DxDP and he doesn't have to spend the week eating fast food (yes, I know there are more QS options than the typical fast food, but it's a compromise I'm willing to make). Our upcoming 7 night trip has 10 TS booked.

I think it also depends on the time of year you're visiting and how you tour. This is our first time in August and we're planning on a mid-day break to avoid the heat and crowds (at little at least). I tried to book them something like this: Rope Drop DHS, Bon Voyage Brunch at noon, break at hotel, dinner at Cape May at 5 then back to DHS (if we want) in the evening. I don't normally have 2 buffets/AYCTE it's just the way that day worked out but that's the general idea.

 

[ChanduTail]

I don't think you made too many We do 1-2 TS every day.

I am not big on most Disney QS & would rather snack than plan to eat a QS meal. That's always an option, too, if you're not impressed by any nearby QS when you get hungry.

 

[GillianP1301]

5 ADRs in 10 days is nowhere near enough for me, but to each their own. I'm a heavy ADR person though and our 10 day trips normally have about 20 of them. I think a good rule of thumb is 1 TS per day and seems to be the general consensus of these boards for a "good" amount. But again, to each their own. If you prefer QS and only want 5 TS then go for it.

 

[Iowamomof4]

Our first trip was with a group and we did about 1 ts/day. That ended up being too many for my family. For our second trip, we had about 3 ts reservations for a 10+ day trip and, honestly, it was better but I do think we would have enjoyed a couple more. Somehow we ended up eating at our resort a lot more than I expected and seeing the same options night after night got a bit old.

For the trip I'm planning now, I might go as high as 1 ts/day, but I'll be sure to plan our days so that we're near the dining location when it's time to eat.

 

[goofyintoronto]

That's how we are too. Dh will support a Disney trip as often as we can swing it (which is about every 3-4 years) as long as we get DxDP and he doesn't have to spend the week eating fast food (yes, I know there are more QS options than the typical fast food, but it's a compromise I'm willing to make). Our upcoming 7 night trip has 10 TS booked.

I think it also depends on the time of year you're visiting and how you tour. This is our first time in August and we're planning on a mid-day break to avoid the heat and crowds (at little at least). I tried to book them something like this: Rope Drop DHS, Bon Voyage Brunch at noon, break at hotel, dinner at Cape May at 5 then back to DHS (if we want) in the evening. I don't normally have 2 buffets/AYCTE it's just the way that day worked out but that's the general idea.

I agree, DxDP is a nice compromise. This way you can eat at more signature restaurants. DxDP is great if youre planning on signature restaurants. My typical TS ADR schedule can be too much sometimes. I overdo it then during my trip i'll cancel the day before...but not too many. Normally just one or two. So typically its 1 TS per day at least. Plus i normally do F&W for lunch daily. I have to make room for that! Anyway, 10 TS for a 7 day trip is pretty good...its about what i normally have too. lol.

Ive been in August many times. You definitely need a midday break. Rope drop is important too. Its very hot.

 

[Corwin]

We pretty consistently do at least 1 TS per day. Most days we eat a QS breakfast, mid-day snack (or nothing), and TS dinner. Sometimes on Epcot days, we'll skip breakfast and have a TS lunch and TS dinner.

On our last day, we usually have a TS breakfast after checking out of our resort hotel. If we have an evening flight, we might also have a QS lunch.

We plan our days around our TS reservations, so there shouldn't be any running around. I pick the parks we want to go to each day, then pick the ADRs, then pick Fastpasses. I already have a draft spreadsheet made up for our visit next May!

I still remember my first visit to WDW in 1991, where we went around Epcot's World Showcase going from restaurant to restaurant trying to find a walk-up opening for dinner. Never again!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I wouldn't recommend wandering around and just seeing what's good if you are going as a group, especially with kids/teens.

Since it's just DD12 and myself this trip I'm doing 5 ADRs over 10 days. For all of our meals that we don't have an ADR I have made a note of places in the area we may want to try when the time comes. On our DHS morning I have a note for HBD lounge/TSL/Mama Melrose/Beaches and Cream, on AK day I have Nomad/Satuli/Y&Y/FTB. That way I know what's in the area and we can decide to do QS, lounge or try to get an ADR. DD and I have similar tastes and she likes to try different foods. Plus it's only two tastes to think about.

I wouldn't try this when we go as a family of four. When we all go together I either book an ADR or have a QS spot set in stone. I don't do a lot of options because then I'm being "attacked" by 3 different people wanting 3 different things. It's much easier for me to say "today we are eating at CHH for lunch and Ohana for dinner." No fuss most of the time.

 

[NYCgrrl]

My last trip my family and I thought we made too many reservations. Half the time we were running around the park just to make our meal reservation.

We want to avoid this. Also, do more quick services. I wonder if I made to many again? We are going for 10 days. What do you think? Cut a restaurant? Or, is it kosher?

Beaches and Cream
Ohana
Be Our Guest
Crystal Plaza
Tea Room in Floridan

Since you are comfortable doing one table service on average once every 2 days that's all that really matters.
Should you find there's a place you don't want to eat at as the trip goes on-cancel it and given the popularity of many of the restaurants on your list others will gladly snap it up. Just keep in mind the cancellation time for each eatery.

Our next trip is 7 nights/8 days. We'll do a table service everyday including departure day. Mostly dinners but 2 meals are brunches. Little running around per se since I matched park attendance to ADRs. Purposely opted out of the restaurants at Animal Kingdom Lodge this trip because it would require too much travel for us; there's always another time.

 

[DVC-Don]

We are good with 2 ADR's a week.

 

[Kimberle]

My last trip my family and I thought we made too many reservations. Half the time we were running around the park just to make our meal reservation.

We want to avoid this. Also, do more quick services. I wonder if I made to many again? We are going for 10 days. What do you think? Cut a restaurant? Or, is it kosher?

Beaches and Cream
Ohana
Be Our Guest
Crystal Plaza
Tea Room in Floridan

I go for 7 days and make 1 TS ADR per day.